Last year 09(98) left Rutland on 2nd September, but with his family already heading south, he could leave earlier this year. With this in mind we’re checking his satellite data a couple of times each day; and once he does leave, we’ll be posting daily updates on the website.

In the meantime, it has been fascinating to follow his daily movements now that he doesn’t have a family to feed. Since his offspring left the weekend before last, 09 has spent very little time at Site N. Instead he has roosted up to seven miles away and visited several of the vacant nest sites in the Rutland Water area. In fact his movements are now very reminiscent of the kind of thing we were seeing last summer, when he wasn’t breeding. Perhaps he is enjoying rekindling his bachelor lifestyle again?

It is this information on the birds daily movements around Rutland that make the satellite tracking data so useful. It goes without saying that it is fantastic to be able to follow their migration, but to be able chart an indivdual’s local movements is extremely valuable too. For this reason we’re very grateful to the East Midlands branch of the Hawk and Owl Trust who donated £500 last week to help cover the costs of receving the satellite-tracking data. Here is a photo of me receiving the cheque from Treasurer Simon Dudhill (left) and Chairman Geoff Williamson (right). Thanks very much guys!

The Hawk and Owl Trust East Midlands Group has started putting together a series of future talks and events for the coming year, with talks in September and October already arranged. The group holds the majority of those talks at Birdwatching Centre at Egleton. If you are interested in being included on their mailing list for information on all those events then please contact the group on eastmidlandshot@gmail.com or visit their website.